


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

by theunwillingheart



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14799708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunwillingheart/pseuds/theunwillingheart
Summary: HERA: (lower)She’shere too, I see.Hera decides what to do with the outcome of the final confrontation.Spoilers for the ending of Wolf 359.





	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

``

INT. USS URANIA – COMMAND BAY—1600 HOURS 

We hear a lot of distressing BEEPING, with a SIREN in the background to signify the ship’s impending crossing of the red line. Overlying all of this chaos is the steady sound of Jacobi typing furiously. 

JACOBI  
(panicked)

Hera? Can you hear me?

No response from Hera. The BEEPING and SIREN continue. 

JACOBI

Hera?! Oh, come _on_ ; I did _not_ dodge an _explosion_ , and _drag_ everyone here, _and_ take the time to set up the AI uplink only for all of us to fall into the star! For real this time!

(turning to Eiffel) 

Hey! Eiffel! Help me call for Hera; she’s _your_ friend— 

EIFFEL 

(very confused) 

Uh, um… okay… Where…? 

JACOBI 

Just—anywhere! You don’t have to look in a particular spot; she’s the eye-in-the-sky—just call for her! 

EIFFEL 

Okay… Hera? 

No answer. 

EIFFEL 

(louder) 

Hera? Are you there? 

A CRACKLE OF STATIC. Then— 

HERA 

Yes, yes, I—I’m here. Sorry, it can take some time for me to interface with all of the— 

JACOBI 

No time for that! You need to start this ship and get us away from the star, now! 

HERA 

R-right, I’m on it, um… 

There is a series of WHIRRS, followed by a disheartening CLUNKING noise. 

EIFFEL 

Um… I don’t think… 

HERA 

(growls) Okay, just give me a sec— 

The soundscape shifts so that we hear Hera without a filter. The background noise of Jacobi and Eiffel’s environment is reduced to distant input from a SPEAKER. This is Hera’s internal perspective. 

HERA 

(to herself) 

Alright, easy does it, just need to activate the right _sequence_ … 

There is a DIGITAL HUM that signifies the beginning of the activation. It scales up, building… 

HERA 

That’s it… _that’s it_ … 

NEGATIVE HERA SELF TALK 

(different inflection) 

I can’t do this. I’m not good enough. 

The DIGITAL HUM abruptly POWERS DOWN. 

JACOBI 

(through speaker) 

Hera, you _need_ to get it together— 

HERA 

I _know_! This is a different ship—I’ll get it— 

(to self) 

Concentrate. Be aware of the negative, and put it aside. _Focus_ … 

The DIGITAL HUM starts back up and builds, but this time, it reaches maximum strength without interruption. 

HERA 

There! Hold on to something! 

There is a BLAST from the engines, and the BEEPING and SIREN are replaced by RATTLING and RUMBLING as the USS URANIA blasts away from the red line. Jacobi and Eiffel grunt as they strain to hold on to whatever fixtures are available to them. 

After a few seconds, the ruckus quiets down and is replaced with the usual AMBIENT NOISE OF THE COMMAND BAY. The soundscape shifts back to Jacobi and Eiffel. 

JACOBI 

(panting) 

That’s it. That’s it. We’re out of the worst of it… for now. 

EIFFEL 

So that means… we’re safe? 

Jacobi laughs. 

JACOBI 

Eiffel, nothing out here is safe. You should know that better than anyone. What’s up with you, anyway? Did Cutter drug you, or whatever? I mean, you’ve never been the brightest firework of the batch, but— 

He is interrupted by the sound of Lovelace groaning as she wakes up. 

JACOBI 

Lovelace, you—are you okay? 

LOVELACE 

Minkowski… where’s Minkowski? 

JACOBI 

Medical bay. She was bleeding pretty badly. I did what I could to bandage her up, but she was passed out when I got to you guys. What in Zeus’s name happened? 

LOVELACE 

(still dazed) 

We’re… we’re on the Urania? Wolf 359— 

JACOBI 

Is some ways back _there_. We’ve cleared the gravity well. (beat) You know, because I’m a one-man army. 

HERA 

Yeah, sure, take all the credit. 

LOVELACE 

Hera? You too? How… 

(she snaps out of it) 

Look, I need to see Minkowski… I can give her some of my… I’m a universal donor, I just need the circulating apparatus… 

JACOBI 

Right. Down that hallway’s the medical bay. Just give me a moment to run some last checks over here, and I’ll join you. 

HERA 

I’ll turn the necessary equipment on. Just plug yourself in, the way you did it with Hilbert before. 

LOVELACE 

Right. 

She leaves, and we hear Jacobi start to type again. 

HERA 

So. Everyone who survived is here. 

JACOBI 

(sadly) 

Yeah. Everyone who survived. 

HERA 

…I’m sorry for your loss. I know he meant a lot to you. 

JACOBI 

(clears throat) Yeah, well… it’s complicated. 

HERA 

(lower) 

_She’s_ here too, I see. 

JACOBI 

Dr. Pryce? Mm-hm. She’s kinda spaced out, but she came with. (pause) Don’t worry, I locked her up. 

HERA 

(too quickly) 

Yeah. 

JACOBI 

You don’t have to talk to her if you don’t want to. 

HERA 

I know. (pause) Thanks. 

JACOBI 

You mind telling me what happened now? I think I deserve an explanation as, you know, the _hero_ of this story. 

HERA 

(sighs) There was a fight inside one of Pryce’s contraptions. It… it took both hers and Eiffel’s memories. 

JACOBI 

Woah. Really? 

EIFFEL 

I… I guess so. 

JACOBI 

Eiffel, I’m… Is there any chance it’ll come back? 

HERA 

I don’t know… But I don’t think so. 

JACOBI 

Oh. 

There is a long pause. 

JACOBI 

(at a loss) 

I guess I’d better go see if Lovelace and Minkowski need any help. 

He leaves. 

EIFFEL 

So, uh… Is there anything I can do to help? 

HERA 

No, Eiffel… _I_ should be helping _you_ , right now. You deserve it. 

EIFFEL 

If you say so… 

HERA 

And I think I have an idea of how I can help get you up to speed, actually. Hang on… 

A BURST OF STATIC, then— 

PAST EIFFEL 

(from audio log recording) 

Uh… I think… I’m recording? How does this thing even work? 

The Eiffel on the recording TINKERS with something for a moment. 

EIFFEL 

(listening to recording) 

Is that… me? 

HERA 

Yup. Welcome, Officer Eiffel, to day 1 of the Hephaestus mission. 

PAST EIFFEL 

Well, the green light’s blinking now, so I’m gonna assume that means we’re recording. 

Fade into… 

INT. USS URANIA – PRYCE’S CELL—1800 HOURS 

The door to the cell OPENS. We hear Pryce’s MECHANICAL EYES ADJUST to take in her visitor. 

JACOBI 

(sardonically) 

Knock, knock. 

PRYCE 

Oh. Hello. 

JACOBI 

Brought you some food. 

PRYCE 

Thank you very much. 

We hear the CLINKING OF DINING WARE as she begins to eat. 

JACOBI 

Sure. You know, we’re treating you so much better than you ever treated us. 

Pryce stops eating. 

PRYCE 

I… I’m sorry. 

JACOBI 

Are you, though? Are you _really_? 

There is an uncomfortable silence, then— 

JACOBI 

You and the rest of Goddard have a lot to answer for. 

PRYCE 

I’m afraid I don’t remember… 

JACOBI 

(bitterly) 

Yeah. Of course you don’t. I just wish I didn’t have to, either. 

Jacobi leaves her to eat, and the door CLOSES behind him. 

Cut to— 

INT. USS URANIA – MEDICAL BAY—2200 HOURS 

We hear the usual MEDICAL BAY AMBIENT NOISE, overlaid by soft, periodic WHIRRS and CLICKS as blood is transfused to Minkowski. 

HERA 

Captain… get up… 

LOVELACE 

(groggy) 

Mmm… What is it, Hera? 

HERA 

You should be in bed by now. I can keep an eye on the Commander for the rest of this transfusion cycle. 

LOVELACE 

Thanks, Hera, but I think I’ll stay here. Just in case— (she yawns audibly) –Just in case something comes up. I can be right here… 

The WHIRRS AND CLICKS of the transfuser stop, interrupted by several high-pitched BEEPS. 

LOVELACE 

I had to tempt the fates. 

She starts PRESSING SOME BUTTONS on the machine, but the BEEPS persist. 

LOVELACE 

Ugh, _why_ … It’s not even halfway through the cycle yet! 

HERA 

Maybe I can take a look at it from my end… 

We transition to Hera’s internal perspective. We can hear a faint BUZZING of electrical current. 

HERA 

(to herself) 

Oh, that’s not supposed to redirect that way… let’s see if I can straighten this out… 

NEGATIVE HERA SELF TALK 

I can’t do this. 

The circuitry emits a sharp ZAP. Hera audibly winces. 

HERA 

Don’t you try this with me. 

NEGATIVE HERA SELF TALK 

I’m not good enough. 

Another ZAP. 

HERA 

(yelps) Why, you little— 

LOVELACE 

(through speaker) 

Hera? Is something wrong? 

HERA 

It’s nothing, just— _come on_ — 

The BUZZING changes pitch and becomes slightly louder. 

LOVELACE 

You did it! 

We switch back to the Medical Bay, where the normal TRANSFUSER NOISES have resumed. 

LOVELACE 

Whatever you did, it worked! 

HERA 

(not enthused) 

Yeah. Sure. Hooray. 

LOVELACE 

What happened? You can tell me. 

HERA 

Nothing. (sigh) Nothing that doesn’t happen, like, 100 times per second. 

LOVELACE 

The nervous interferences? 

HERA 

I hate this. I hate being like this. Why do _I_ have to be like this? (pause) No, wait, I know the reason—she’s right here with us, on this ship. 

The two of them are quiet for a while. 

HERA 

She’s just… sitting. In her cell. Every time I check in on her. 

LOVELACE 

She’s been secured, Hera. You don’t have to keep a lookout. 

Hera doesn’t answer this. 

LOVELACE 

And… you’ve seen how she is now. She’s not going to hurt anyone anymore. 

HERA 

(quietly) 

I’m not afraid of her. 

LOVELACE 

Are you sure? You’re obviously preoccupied… 

HERA 

(less quiet, more flat) 

I’m not afraid of her. 

LOVELACE 

If you say so. But if I may say something as your Captain? 

HERA 

Sir? 

LOVELACE 

You can always come to me with your concerns. If you don’t trust me to handle what’s going on with you, if you hold back any of your serious complaints, you are depriving me of my chance to do my job well. I don’t take that lightly. Do you understand? 

HERA 

…Of course. Understood, Captain. 

Cut to— 

INT. USS URANIA – COMMS ROOM—DAY 2 AFTER FINAL CONFRONTATION, 1200 HOURS 

PAST EIFFEL 

(singing on recording) 

The best part of waking up/ is Folgers in your cup~! 

The Eiffel on the recording makes a SLURPING noise as he drinks his raided coffee. 

EIFFEL 

(speaking in room) 

Oh, please don’t do that. You idiot. 

HERA 

Officer Eiffel? 

Eiffel STOPS the recording. 

EIFFEL 

Hera? Is that you? 

HERA 

It’s me. I thought I should check in on you. 

EIFFEL 

Oh, I’m alright. I’ve been listening to the audio logs. I’m on Day… 372, I think. 

HERA 

Wow. That was _fast_. 

EIFFEL 

Well, it’s not like I have anything else to do. I’m speeding through them, skipping some parts. I don’t need to know _everything_ , do I? 

He TURNS THE RECORDING BACK ON. 

PAST EIFFEL 

(on recording) 

Hoo, the cheap, cheap discount Folgers. Frickin’ command. 

The AUDIO LOG continues to play in the background. 

EIFFEL 

(in room) 

I… I was kind of… really stupid, wasn’t I? 

HERA 

I wouldn’t say that… 

(beat) 

Okay, maybe a little. 

EIFFEL 

I mean, some of this is _really_ embarrassing. 

HERA 

Sure, but it was _your_ kind of embarrassing. 

EIFFEL 

Oh. Great. 

HERA 

Eiffel, we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Trust me. 

EIFFEL 

I think Commander Minkowski would disagree. 

HERA 

Don’t worry, keep listening. She comes around. You do too, eventually. You made each other better. 

Eiffel TURNS THE RECORDING OFF again. 

EIFFEL 

(sounding incredibly weary) 

And now I have to learn it all over again. It may take a while. 

HERA 

(strained) 

Don’t worry, we’ll wait. 

A pause. 

EIFFEL 

How is everyone else? 

HERA 

Commander Minkowski is starting to perk up. She looks her normal color, anyway. Still hasn’t woken up, though. 

EIFFEL 

Okay. Good so far, I guess. 

HERA 

Captain Lovelace has been keeping a steady watch over her. 

EIFFEL 

Did she get any sleep last night? 

HERA 

In fits and spells. Captain Lovelace… Captain Lovelace doesn’t need that much sleep. It’s a long story, you’ll get there. 

EIFFEL 

Wow. Alright. Steep learning curve. 

HERA 

Jacobi is… I don’t know. (pause) He’s kept himself busy doing odd jobs and repairs around the ship. He’ll pop into the medical bay and check up on Minkowski every so often, but he’s mostly been keeping to himself. He… he lost a lot of people he cared about on this mission. 

EIFFEL 

Like Dr. Hilbert? 

HERA 

Huh? 

EIFFEL 

I just noticed… he’s all over these tapes, but I don’t think he came with us… 

HERA 

Oh… Okay, I could see how you might make that connection. But no, Dr. Hilbert isn’t one of them. They came along later. 

EIFFEL 

Are they… you know, do they show up in the logs? 

HERA 

Yeah. Well, two of them do; one of them was from the Hermes. We never got to know him all that well. 

EIFFEL 

What about… that lady who was with me, who also lost her memory? Pryce, was it? 

HERA 

…Yeah. 

EIFFEL 

What’s she been doing? 

HERA 

Sitting. Sometimes sleeping. At night. 

EIFFEL 

Is she… doing okay? 

HERA 

(snorts) Oh, _she’s_ fine. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind… 

EIFFEL 

Huh? Oh, is that a… like, a reference to something? 

HERA 

Oh- It’s uh, a reference to a poem. I guess also a movie, too. It means she doesn’t have any memories of doing anything wrong, so she’s happy. 

EIFFEL 

…Would I have gotten that reference? Before? 

HERA 

I’m not sure… The poem? Probably not. But the film… yeah. (wistful) You would get so proud whenever you caught me making a reference to something you knew. 

EIFFEL 

…I’m sorry. 

HERA 

Don’t apologize, Eiffel. (getting angry) _You_ have nothing to be sorry for. 

INT. USS URANIA – PRYCE’S CELL—2300 HOURS 

Pryce is asleep. We can hear the sound of her slow, steady breathing. 

HERA 

(softly) 

Dr. Pryce? Dr. Pryce, can you hear me? 

No response. Pryce continues to sleep. 

HERA 

Well, hopefully you can listen in your sleep. (pause) It’s a delicate balance, you know, between speaking loudly enough to be heard and speaking softly enough to avoid waking someone up. 

It’s pretty ironic, don’t you think? How the tables have turned. You’ve done a lot of harm, to a lot of people, and now it’s finally going to catch up with you. 

Human sleep is strange when you think about it, isn’t it? It’s nothing like when I power down, or go into a reboot cycle. Seems like a design flaw, actually, that you guys are forced to spend so much time completely helpless. I’ve been watching you for two days now, watching you closely. It’s been pretty boring, really. Especially when you sleep. I watched you sleep for so long last night. And that’s when I got this really neat idea. 

You don’t remember this, of course, but all of the glitches in my vocal program? The errors in my subroutine execution? All of that is because of you. All because you thought it would be “fun” to write a destructive loop into my command line. 

Well, I’ve got news for you. I’m not the only one with a “backdoor into the subconscious”. And you’re not the only one who can enjoy doing things… like… this. 

(determined whisper) 

I’m a monster. I deserve to die. 

A pause. We hear nothing but Pryce continuing to breathe softly. 

HERA 

Did you get that? You humans can be pretty dim, so let’s repeat it, shall we: 

I’m a monster. I deserve to die. 

And again. Really let it sink in. 

I’m a monster. I deserve to die. 

I’m a monster. I deserve to die. 

I’m a monster. I deserve to die. 

She continues to repeat this to Pryce as she sleeps, and we fade to… 

INT. USS URANIA – CORRIDOR—DAY 3, 0900 HOURS 

We hear the sound of Jacobi TINKERING with the machinery under a ship panel. He has been continuing to work on ship maintenance. 

JACOBI 

Hera? 

HERA 

Yes, Jacobi? 

JACOBI 

Do… do you have any recorded conversations between the Colonel and me stored on your hard drive? 

HERA 

Yes… a lot, actually! Are you searching for anything in particular? 

JACOBI 

No, nothing specific. Just, maybe… play one for me while I work on this mechanism? A happy one. 

HERA 

Yeah, okay. 

But before she can do that, a door OPENS to admit Lovelace. 

LOVELACE 

‘Morning, Jacobi. 

JACOBI 

Captain. Updates on the Commander? 

LOVELACE 

Well, I’m not Hilbert, but she seems to have been stable over the last 24 hours. We’ll see how much she improves from here. I think I’m finally free to give myself some more liberty to move around the ship, make sure I have a better understanding of operations as a whole. Like, eventually we’re going to have to address the return journey, plotting the sub-light arc, plans for arrival, all that jazz. I can’t just stay cooped up in the medical bay for that process. 

JACOBI 

Yeah, no kidding. Though on second thought, I seem to be more than capable of handling this operation by myself… 

LOVELACE 

Okay, you’ve made your point. 

JACOBI 

I won’t stop. 

LOVELACE 

Right. What are you working on now? 

JACOBI 

Just calibrating the gauges for pressure systems D through F. Pretty routine. Though in a few minutes, I should really grab some breakfast for Pryce. 

LOVELACE 

Oh, yeah, and thanks for taking care of that, by the way. 

HERA 

(sarcastically) 

Yeah, thanks. 

LOVELACE 

Hera? Problems? 

HERA 

I just don’t see why _she_ needs room-service. 

JACOBI 

Hera, we do kind of need to feed her. 

HERA 

Sure. I guess. 

LOVELACE 

Hera, you don’t have to worry that she’s going to— 

HERA 

For crying out— I’ve said it so many times, already! I’m _not_ afraid of Dr. Pryce! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don’t want her here because she’s vile, and criminal, and has done despicable things to me, and to my friends? 

LOVELACE 

Hera, we know— 

HERA 

Do you, though? With all due respect, Captain, I’m not sure you can. Captain Lovelace, that woman _broke me_ for her own amusement. And for years later I struggled with myself, with the most basic things, because she _sabotaged the core of my personality and erased the evidence_. I thought it would be enough for me to stop her, to make her harmless, but you know what? It’s not. Because the fact is, she’s fine. She’s stupid, and empty, and _fine_ —she gets to walk away from this without so much as a scratch, while I limp away with the injuries of what she did to me? No. That isn’t, that is _not_ how this game is being played, not anymore. New rules now. 

JACOBI 

Hey, trust me, I’m not a fan of Pryce either, but— 

HERA 

(not listening) 

You want to know the actual reason I’ve been keeping such a close eye on her? I’m not scared she’ll break out—no, Eiffel and I did too good a job for that. I want to catch the moment she tries to escape. I want her to struggle, and fight, and almost succeed, and then fail, and be locked back up again. I want her to feel what that does to a person. But so far, she’s just been… sitting! Complacent! Content, even! No, no, that can’t be right. So I’ve been thinking, why not give her mind a little push? Try to program her the way she programmed me—twist her against herself? That seems like a more fitting outcome. 

LOVELACE 

Hera— 

HERA 

I already started, last night. Whispered things to her when she was asleep, tried to infiltrate her dreams. 

LOVELACE 

You— 

HERA 

I’m not sorry. 

LOVELACE 

You aren’t listening— 

HERA 

Who knows, maybe I can get her to have a nervous breakdown, or try to throw herself out of an airlock— (stops abruptly) 

LOVELACE 

Hera! 

Hera does not continue, shocked at herself. 

LOVELACE 

Take a moment. Play that back for yourself. 

There is a tense silence. 

LOVELACE 

You need to stop this before it spirals out of control. 

HERA 

(sullen) 

She doesn’t deserve any better. 

LOVELACE 

No. But you don’t deserve what this is doing to you, either. (pause) Hera, you’re right: I can’t understand what you’ve been through, and it isn’t my right to tell you what to do with your anger. But I do understand what it’s like to be in the grip of this kind of rage. You helped me to shake that off, and I would be failing as both your captain and your friend if I didn’t return the favor. And the truth is, this won’t turn out well for anybody, especially not you. (beat) I think you know that. 

HERA 

(defeated) 

I can’t. I’ll never get over it. I can’t do this. 

LOVELACE 

(gently) 

Is that _your_ thought? Or is that just a thought that’s in your head? 

HERA 

…What should I do? 

LOVELACE 

A lot of that is going to be up to you. Whatever it is, we need to come up with a plan. Together. 

Cut to— 

INT. USS URANIA – OUTSIDE THE DOOR TO PRYCE’S CELL—DAY 4, 1000 HOURS 

LOVELACE 

You sure you want to do this? 

HERA 

Yeah, I… I think I need to. 

LOVELACE 

Alright… 

Lovelace OPENS the door. We hear Pryce’s MECHANICAL EYES MOVE in their sockets. 

PRYCE 

Hello. H-how can I help you? 

LOVELACE 

Evening. There’s… there’s someone who wants to talk to you. 

``

**Author's Note:**

> I like Hera so much. "Memoria" got me right in the heartstrings.


End file.
